


A Second Chance To Get It Right

by Shirazkindofgirl



Category: Holby City
Genre: Canon? What Canon?, F/F, Fix-it fic, What canon messes up - can be fixed in fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 04:12:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17155079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shirazkindofgirl/pseuds/Shirazkindofgirl
Summary: Set in the days following Jason's Wedding. Bernie is stuck in the UK due to drones over Holby Airport. Bernie and Serena start to learn to communicate.





	A Second Chance To Get It Right

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't planning to write for Berena again and then the drones happened over Gatwick and this is what my head came up with. 
> 
> To Squishmitten, who has put up with my bitching and complaining about fic (and other things) this year. In the words of the Golden Girls theme, "Thank you for being a friend". :-)

Bernie’s footsteps echoed in the quiet of the house. Switching on minimal lights as she went, she gathered up the scant possessions she had unpacked yesterday. They hadn’t made love last night. Serena having said she was tired after an all night shift. Bernie realised this should have been a red flag. Regardless of how tired either of them had been, they’d never not been affectionate on their first night reuniting. 

Throwing the last of her stuff into her backpack, Bernie took one last look around the house she had once regarded as home. She closed the door and posted the keys through the letterbox. There was a soft clink as they landed on the wooden floor.

Taking a deep breath, Bernie turned to gather up her belongings. With one last look at the house, she turned away and walked to the taxi waiting at the end of the driveway.

Bernie had called ahead and booked a hotel. She had managed to reserve a seat on the next flight to Nairobi. She would be back at the NTC before Christmas. With a bit of luck, HR would rescind her resignation and she’d still have a job next week. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be going Bernie’s way. Drones had been spotted flying over Holby airport, all flights were cancelled for safety reasons.

Everyone thought the drone problems would be solved in a matter of hours. How wrong they were. The Police were useless, there was talk of the Military being called in. Flights were still cancelled, nothing was moving. Bernie’s flight had been grounded for the foreseeable future. She tried to rebook. There was nothing available until the 29th. To add to her troubles, the hotel had informed her she would have to leave tomorrow as they were fully booked for the Christmas season. At this rate Bernie would be spending Christmas in the airport lounge or on the street. Cam wasn’t due back in the UK for another week. Charlotte was somewhere in Europe, skiing with her partner. There were one or two ex-Army colleagues she could call upon, but Bernie didn’t want to impose at this time of year. 

After phoning around as many hotels in the Holby area as she could, Bernie had given up on the idea of finding a room. She’d call Ric in a while and see if he’d mind offering her a bed for a few nights. Failing that, she’d sleep in the on call room at the hospital if she had to. She knew Serena was off for Christmas day and Boxing day. She could easily avoid her for the remainder of her time in the UK.

Checking out of her hotel room, and knowing it was still far too early to call Ric, Bernie decided to buy a few last minute Christmas gifts for Cam, she could always leave them at the hospital. Bernie wondered if Serena knew Cam would be on the wards of Holby again in a matter of weeks. She was somewhat happy that she would be thousands of miles away from that particular encounter, should they run into each other in the lift, or queue for Pulses. 

Bernie trudged along the high street. She was so deep in thought about what to buy for Cam, she didn’t notice the familiar figure of Jason approaching.

“Hello Auntie Bernie, I thought you had gone back to Nairobi. Auntie Serena said there had been a staffing emergency and you couldn’t stay for Christmas.”

“Oh, um ... hello Jason. There’s been a change of plan. My flight was cancelled due to the drone issues. I can’t get a flight back until the end of the month.” Bernie replied.

“Auntie Serena will be happy to see you. She said she wasn’t looking forward to Christmas because you and Elinor wouldn’t be here to celebrate with her. Why aren’t you staying with Auntie Serena?”

It was obvious Serena had neglected to tell Jason why they were no longer together. Bernie didn’t feel it was her place to explain the situation to Jason. She looked down at her feet, “It’s ... it’s a long story, Jason and a conversation you need to have with your Aunt. I’m surprised she hasn’t spoken to you about it, yet. Suffice it to say, I find myself without a bed for the night at present.”

It was obvious, really. At least it was to Jason. “If there are reasons why you can’t stay with Auntie Serena, then you can stay at my flat with Greta, Guinevere and I. You can spend some time with Guinevere. You are family after all.”

Bernie knew it was useless to argue with Jason, his logic would always prevail. She graciously accepted his offer. She could always make an excuse not to be around on Christmas day. There was no need to see Serena and ruin her day.

Bernie had been staying at Jason’s flat for two days. She had enjoyed spending time playing with Guinevere and generally helping Greta around the flat. Bernie had finished cleaning and tidying the kitchen. Removing the bin bag from the bin, she made her way to the front door just as the doorbell rang. 

Bernie opened the door. The bin liner slipped from her grasp when she saw Serena on the doorstep. 

Serena’s mouth fell open, “What are you doing here? I thought you’d gone back to Nairobi.” 

“What am I doing here? Putting out the rubbish, obviously. “ Bernie replied. 

They stared at each other for a few moments. It appeared as if the pair had been rendered speechless. Bernie looked down at her bare feet. She slipped her boots on, grabbed the bin bag and squeezed past Serena, making her way around to the bin. She deposited the bag inside and snapped the lid closed. Serena watched her as she walked back through the door, kicked off her boots and made her way down the hall to the bathroom to wash her hands.

Serena stepped inside, closed the door behind her and followed Bernie down the hall.

Bernie switched on the tap at the sink, soaped up her hands and washed them thoroughly.  
“My flight was cancelled due to the drones. There’s nothing available until the end of the month. Jason let me stay here.”

“So you’ll be here for Christmas?” Serena tentatively asked. 

“I’ll make myself scarce on Christmas day. I won’t ruin your day, Serena.” Bernie looked at Serena’s reflection in the mirror. 

“You don’t have to do that. We agreed to stay friends. We can be civil to each other for a few hours.” 

Bernie finished washing her hands and turned around to dry them. She smiled shyly at Serena.

“Jason is at work, Greta is visiting Sydney, Guinevere is having a nap. Would you like to stay for a cup of coffee?”

 

“I would.”

Serena followed Bernie into the kitchen. She was surprised Bernie knew her way around Jason’s flat so well after such a short space of time. Deciding to make herself useful, Serena pulled two mugs out of the cupboard while Bernie waited for the kettle to boil. Once they had their coffees made, they sat at the kitchen table.

Bernie took a sip of her drink, “What happened to the bouquet?” 

Serena looked up sharply, of all the things she thought Bernie might say, that was not one of them.

“I gave it to Donna.” Serena waited until Bernie looked at her before she continued, “There’s only one person I thought I might want to marry at some point and I’ve ruined my chances. What about your lucky lady in Nairobi?” 

“There’s a connection, nothing’s happened yet. I haven’t slept with her if that’s what you’re asking.” 

Serena shook her head, “I deserved that.” She whispered.

“Yes, you did. An F1 for God’s sake. Serena, what were you thinking?” Bernie tried not to raise her voice too much, she didn’t want to wake Guinevere.

 

Serena ran her finger along the length of the handle of her mug. “I wasn’t thinking. I missed you. I felt lonely. We hadn’t spoken in three weeks. It just happened and I know it’s not an excuse. I’m sorry. “

Bernie sighed, “Communication was never our strong point.”

Taking another sip of her coffee, Bernie decided now might be a good time for the pair to start communicating. Perhaps they could clear the air between them one final time. They would be spending Christmas together after all. If they could share a day without an atmosphere, it would be beneficial for all concerned.

“Can you really not see me being domestic? You’ve just seen me take the bin out.” Bernie looked over the rim of her coffee mug. 

“I didn’t want you to give up what you have in Nairobi, just to be here with me. Holby isn’t exciting. You’d hate it after a while and you’d resent me.”

“Serena, why would I resent you?” Bernie reached across the table and tickled Serena’s fingers. She paused for a moment, waiting and hoping Serena would take her hand. Just as she was about to pull back, Serena grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed. “It’s not giving something up when I’d gain something far more important, a life with you. Have you forgotten? You fell in love with me when I was on AAU. I wasn’t gallivanting all over the world then. I’d come home. I could be happy working in the trauma bay of the ED. I know I could. You do still love me, don’t you?”

Serena clung on to Bernie’s hand, “Yes, yes of course I still love you.”

“So give me a chance. I’m not asking to move in with you. I’ll find somewhere to rent. We can take our relationship back to the start. We can go on dates. I’ll call you after my shifts, we’ll talk about our days. Serena, we can make this work. I want to make this work.” Bernie pleaded.

Serena sat quietly, contemplating everything Bernie had said. She was silent for too long. Bernie disentangled their hands, picked up her cup and made her way round to the sink. Hiding the tears in her eyes, she rinsed her cup and placed it in the dishwasher.

The sound of a chair scraping across the floor filled the silence. Spinning around to check where Serena had gone, Bernie found herself with an armful of the woman in question. She rocked back on her feet, before finding her balance and pulling Serena closer. With a sense of deja vu, and remembering when they had promised they would wait for eternity, Bernie’s lips met Serena’s, she poured all of her emotions into the kiss. 

“If you’re sure about coming home, coming back to me, then yes. Yes, let’s give us another chance.” Serena whispered against Bernie’s lips before kissing her again.

Their relationship may not be perfect and they still needed to learn to communicate, but Bernie was convinced they could make it work. 

Everyone deserves a second chance to make things right.


End file.
